1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to protective guards and safety shields for machine tools, and deals more particularly with a guard for a portable power-feed drill that shields the operator from the rotating spindle assembly and drill tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wide array of guards and safety shields have been devised to protect operators from moving parts of machine tools. In the case of motor driven, power-feed drills and reamers, the spinning drill/reamer, chuck and spindle pose a safety hazard for the operator. One type of portable power-feed drill widely used throughout industry employs a fluid inducer to feed cooling fluids or air down through the center of the drill tool to an opening in the end of the tool so that the fluid/air is fed directly to the cutting site. The fluid is fed to the rotating drill tool using a special fluid inducer, which comprises a fluid coupling connected with a source of the cooling fluid or air. The fluid coupling moves longitudinally with the spindle and drill chuck as the drill tool is fed toward the workpiece, but does not rotate with the spindle.
Power-feed drills of the type described above typically include a housing that surrounds the drill tool and to some degree, protectively shields the operator from coming in contact with a major portion of the rotating drive assembly. However, a longitudinal slot must be provided in the housing to allow a connector for the fluid inducer to move unobstructed through the housing during a feed stroke. This longitudinal slot is wide enough to expose the operator to a length of the rotating drive assembly and the drill tool, thus allowing for the possibility that hands, fingers, or clothing items could come in contact with the rotating drive and drill tool.
Accordingly, there is a need for a machine guard that can effectively protect the machine operator from coming in contact with that portion of the drill tool that is exposed within the slot formed in the housing. The present invention is directed towards satisfying this need.